Last for shoes



Aug. 26,1947. J. E. MacKAY 2,426,516

LAST FOR SHOES Filed May 14. 1945 mvan'ron J: E. MAC KAY ATTORHEY Patented Aug. 26, 1947 LAST FOR SHOES James Edwin MacKay, Street, England, assignor to C. & J. Clark Limited, Somerset, England,

a British company Applicatiofi lvlay 14, 1945, Serial No. 593,588 In Great Britain May 10, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946. Patent expires May 10, 196

8 Claims. (oi. 12-436) The present invention relates to improvements in lasts used in the manufacture of boots and shoes, hereinafter referred to collectively as shoes, and also to trees used for the purpose of maintaining the form of a shoe when it is out of use, the expression last being used in this specification to include a tree.

The rear portion of a shoe narrows inwardly in an upward direction away from the heel portion, so as to fit snugly about the portion of the foot of the wearer in the region of the ankle, and there is in consequence considerable difficulty in inserting into, or removing from, the shoe a last the shape of which truly conforms with the internal shape of the shoe without damaging the shoe, for example by distorting or stretching the upper edge portion of the shoe.

According to the present invention there is provided a shoe last comprising a front portion and a two-part rear portion hinged by its upper part to said front portion, the parts of the rear portion being connected together by link means in such a manner that when the front and rear portions are hinged relatively to one another for I} the insertion of the last into a shoe, the lower part of the rear portion moves forwardly relatively to the upper part but resumes its proper position in relation to the upper part when the front and rear portions of the last are moved relatively to one another to cause the last to exercise its proper function in the shoe, and vice versa.

The rear extremity of the lower part of the rear portion of the last, that is to say the part of the last corresponding to the heel proper, is of greater width than the remainder of the rear portion of the last and on account of the forward movement of the lower part above referred to, the insertion of the last in a shoe or the removal of the last from a shoe can be effected without distorting or stretching the upper edge portion thereof.

The hinge connection between the front and rear portions may conveniently be of any well known constructional form and is as low as possible whilst the plane of cleavage between the upper and lower parts of the rear portion is preferably below the hinge at the forward end of the rear portion of the last and extends to and through the back of therear portion. The

plane of cleavage may be a continuous arc which sweeps gradually upwards from the hori- Zontal when the front and rear portions of the last are in their normal relative positions. I

The lower part of the rear portion may be connected to the upper part of the rear portion by one or more links.

If desired a spring may be provided to force the lower part of the rear portion forwardly when the rear portion is hinged relatively to'the front portion during insertion into, or removal of, the last from a shoe.

In order that the present invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into effect reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings illustrating the same by Way of example, and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of one constructional form of last according to the present invention showing the parts thereof in positions occupied during insertion into or removal of the last from a shoe;

Fig. 2. is a perspective View of the last showing the parts in positions occupied when the last is in position in a shoe;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the last with its parts in positions occupied during insertion or removal from a shoe; and

Fig. 4 is a view from the rear of the last shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a side View of a modified form of last according to the present invention.

In the drawings the lastis shown when used as a tree for a shoe shown in dot and dash lines but it will be understood that when used in the manufacture of shoes it is mounted in an inverted position on a rigid support which engages in the hole 1.

The last shown in Figs. 1 to 4 comprises a front portion 2 constituting a forepart conforming to the toe and Waist portions of the desired foot shape and a two-part rea portion 3 made up of an upper part 4 and a lower part5 movable relatively to the upper part 4. The upper part conforms to the ankle portion of the desired foot shape and the lower part 5 corresponds to the heel portion of the foot shape. The upper part 4 is provided with a transverse cylindrical projection B which seats in a correspondingly shaped transverse recess 1 in the front portion 2 in such a manner as to permit of angular movement of the portions 3, 4 which are connected together by a linkage member 8 having hooked ends which engage pins 9, l inserted in holes drilled transversely in the portions 2 and 3 respectively, the pins 9, I0 being so positioned and the member 8 being so shaped that while the projection 6 is held firmly in the recess 1 in all positions of relative movement of the portions 2 and 3, the portions 2, 3 tend to occupy either the relative positions shown in Fig. 1 or the relative positions shown in Fig. 2, that is to say that if the portions 2, 3 occupy the relative positions shown in Fig. 1, relative angular movement of the portions from the latter position towards the relative positions shown in Fig. 2 beyond a certain limited extent will be assisted by a spring action and vice versa. This form of connection between front and rear portions of a last is well known.

In the last of the present invention the upper and lower parts 4, of the rear portion .3 of the last are movable relatively to one another in such wise that when the rear portion 3 is moved angularly relatively to the front portion 2 from what may be regarded as the normal position of the parts shown in Fig. 2, the lower part 5 moves forwardly relatively to the upper part 4, either alone or assisted by a spring, into the position shown in Fig. '1 in which the widest portion of the rear portion .3 .of the last, which is at the part of the last corresponding to the heel, is forwardly of its normal position and consequently the last can be removed from, or inserted into, a shoe without .distorting or stretching the upper edge H of the shoe. This very desirable result is attained in the construction shown in the drawings by providing a plane of cleavage between the parts 4, 5 in a circular arc l2 extending from a position below the hinge connection of the front and rear portions 2, 3 upwardly to and through the back of the last, and by connecting the parts 4, 5 together by a link 13 mounted at its opposite ends for angular movement on pins I 4, l5 inserted in holes bored in suitable positions in the parts 4, 5 respectively. The radius of the circular are 12 and the length and mounting of the link l3 being so chosen that for the small relative movement of the parts '4, 5 there is no substantial separation of the parts, or in other words, for all practical purposes the parts 4, 5 may be considered as having a relative translatory or sliding movement. In order to limit the movement of the part 5 relatively to the part 4 in the direction rearward of the last the two parts may be provided with co-operating abutments l6, it being understood that the forward movement 'of the part 5 with respect to the part 4 is limited by abutment of the forward .end of the part 5 on the rear end of the front portion 2.

The last shown in Fig. 5in which the same reference numerals have been used to designate the same or similar parts to those designated by them in Figs. 1 to 4-differs from the last shown in Figs. 1 to 4 in that the linklt is located somewhat more forwardly of the last so that the link l3 may be mounted for angular movement on the pin l0, thereby eliminating the pin: is of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4. Conveniently, in this form of the invention, the member 8 may comprise two parts between which the end of the link mounted on the pin 10 is positioned. By mounting the link 13 on pin [0 only three holes need be bored in the last and no extra slot in the part 4 is necessary thereby tending to increase the strength of the last. In this form of the invenr rh) tion also the plane of cleavage I2 between parts 4 and 5 may be in part a circular arc and in part flat as shown in Fig. 5 or wholly flat; it is thought that this may also add to the rigidness and strength of the last.

If desired the edge l8 of the part 5 may be chamfered to provide increased forward move ment to that part when the front and rear portions 2 and 3 are hinged relatively to one another.

Not only does a last according to the present invention avoid distortion or stretching of the upper edge of a shoe as above described, but it also provides for a progressive stretching action to be exerted at the proper place, namely the back of the shoe, during insertion of the last into a shoe, and for a corresponding diminution of stretching during removal of a last from a shoe. Further, due to the co-operating abutments I5, H the application of excessive stretch is avoided.

What I claim is:

1. A shoe last comprising a front portion and a two-part rear portion hinged b its upper part to said front portion, with a plane of cleavage between the upper and lower parts of the rear portion of the last, which extends from a position below the hinge axis of the front and rear portions of the last to and through the back of the last, the upper and lower parts of the rear portion being connected by link means so as to permit said lower heel part to move forwardly relative to said upper heel part when the latter is raised relative to said front portion.

2. A shoe last as claimed in claim 1, in which the plane of cleavage is of arcuate form.

3. A three-part last comprising a front portion and a two-part rear portion consisting of an upper rear part rockable in relation to said front portion and a lower rear part connected by link means only to said upper rear part so as to move forwardly relatively to said upper rear part when it is rocked toward said front portion.

4. A three-part last comprising a front portion and a two-part rear-portion consisting of an upper rear part linked to and rockable on said front portion and a lower rear part pivotally linked to said upper rear part by means which permit said lower rear part to swing toward said front portion as said upper rea part rocks toward said front portion.

5. A three-part last comprising a forepart, an ankle part hinged adjacent its lower front edge to said forepart, a heel part suspended below said ankle part by link means which permits said heel part to move relatively to said ankle part so that said heel part may remain in contact with the rear end of said forepart as the ankle part is swung about its hinge toward said forepart.

6. A three-part last comprising in combination a forepart conforming to the toe and waist portions of the desired foot shape, an ankle pa t having a transverse formation adjacent its lower front edge engaging a complemental formation of said forepart and with a V gap extending up from the engaged formations and formed between the rear face of said forepart and the front face of said ankle part to permit said ankle part to swing towards said forepart, and a heel part extending completely unde said ankle part and freely suspended on link means from said ankle part wtih a plane of cleavage between said ankle part and said heel part below said engaged formations of said ankle part and said forepart, whereby when said ankle part is raised, said heel part may move forwardly.

.5 7. A three-part last as claimed in claim 6, characterized in this, that the length of the link means between the ankle part and the heel part is such that for a small relative movement between said ankle part and said heel part there is no substantial separation between the linked parts as the ankle part swings on the forepart.

8. A three part last comprising front portion and a two-part rear portion consisting of an uppe rear part and a lower rear part, cooperating hinge formations carried by said front portion and said upper rear part, transverse pins carried by said front portion and the parts of said rear portion, a connecting membe anchored at its opposite ends to the pins carried by the front part and the upper rear part of the rear portion,

and link means pivotally mounted on the pins carried by the parts of the rear portion.

JAMES EDWIN MACKAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,553,353 Bates Sept. 15, 1925 1,806,720 Stanley May 26, 1931 

